Thursday, March 25, 2010

Over the past two weeks...

I just realized last night how long it's been since I did a blog update! We've had a busy couple of weeks...
  • Robert's sister got married on the 13th at a ranch in Bandera. Claire was the flower girl, and she performed her duties beautifully! I'm planning a whole post on the wedding.
  • We had one set of Robert's grandparents, Ma & Bob, and his uncle Clark, aunt Gayle, and cousin Tom staying with us the weekend of the wedding. We had a great visit and enjoyed showing them some of the missions of San Antonio.
  • Monday the 15th was my last day of work at the accounting firm I'd been working for here in San Antonio. I left for a variety of reasons, but the main reason was that my request to go to a formal part-time schedule was basically ignored for months, so I found another job that I'm very excited about. I'll be working for a local restaurant here in San Antonio with 3 locations, doing some accounting, analysis, strategy, planning, etc. for the owners. The office is VERY small, so it will be a change, but I love the industry and am looking forward to starting on Monday!
  • I've stayed busy on my days off, painting a room, working on a list of things we've been needing to complete for months, cleaning, spending more time with Claire, etc.
  • Last Thursday, we got a scary call from the daycare. Claire fell out of a chair and hit her head on the floor, and the director was concerned about her and called the ambulance. I was at home painting, so I threw down my stuff and headed over. Robert got the message before me, and by the time I got there, he was already there and the paramedic had come and gone. The paramedic thought she was okay but said we might want to get a second opinion, so I took her to the pediatrician's office for another look. She was acting normally but sleepy, and I kept talking to her and reaching back and messing with her to keep her awake. Fortunately the pediatrician agreed that she was okay, told us a few things to watch for, and we all headed to lunch. She was fine by then, ate a good lunch, and went down for a nap when we got home. I checked on her every half hour to make sure she was okay, and we didn't have any issues other than a bump, a huge bruise, and a sore noggin. Overall, we were thankful that the school reacted so quickly and didn't hesitate to call for medical attention, and that things weren't any worse (and that there is time for the bruise to go away before our family portraits in a couple of weeks :) ).
  • Mom and Dad came to visit last weekend. We hadn't seen them since our big trip in January and enjoyed spending lots of time with them - and putting Dad to work on lots of projects with Robert!
  • While Mom and Dad were here, Robert and I managed to see two movies - "Up in the Air" and "Avatar" in 3D. Really enjoyed both of them, although "Up in the Air" was a little depressing. We realized that we hadn't been to the theater since we saw "Star Trek" - it had been too long!
  • Claire is going to her first Easter egg hunt this weekend, and we're excited to see how she reacts.
  • Claire is still taking some small steps on the potty training front. We are taking it very slowly and letting her set the pace at this point. Most nights she will sit on her potty before her bath, and after a couple of weeks of nothing happening, she's started using it again. We give her a sticker every time she sits on it for more than a few seconds, and she gets another one if she actually uses it (and she gets to flush the big toilet, which she thinks is really fun). I'm trying to avoid any food-related rewards after hearing some stories from friends with children a little older than C, and fortunately she loves stickers. She definitely understands the concept, which is what we're going for right now, and we're not planning on full-on potty training for awhile. Selfishly, I like being able to run errands and not worry about finding the nearest bathroom, or having to get up multiple times during a dinner out to go to the restroom. That will happen soon enough, I'm sure!

Look for posts soon about Carol's wedding, our crazy night trying to leave Hawaii, and more!

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Keeping an eye on Daddy

Claire has always enjoyed watching Robert when he is working in the backyard, but the other day she was absolutely mesmerized. She even drug her little chair over to have a good seat. She sat and watched him for several minutes, giggling with such joy every time he would wave at her. She would point and exclaim "Da! Da!" - her version of "Daddy". So precious!


Watching Daddy

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Cheese!

Claire has the "say 'cheese'" face down cold now:


Cheese!

Hawaii 2010 - Hills & Valleys

On January 21st, our last full day in Hawaii, our plan was to head into Waimea and visit the Parker Ranch. We heard that the historic homes were worth a visit, and we knew Dad would love learning more about the ranch. The drive into town is lovely, and it is amazing to see how quickly the land changes as you go from the dry side of the island to lush green fields in the middle of the town. We all liked seeing the cows up in the hills overlooking the town.


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We arrived at the road to the historic homes and were disappointed to see that the gate was closed. I called the number and learned that they wouldn't be open until a festival the next month. We decided to try the main visitor center and after having trouble locating it, we stopped in the Parker Ranch store and learned that the visitor center was closed due to the economy. There were a couple of small exhibits in the store, so it wasn't a total loss!

We asked the salespeople if they had any recommendations of things to see nearby, and after hearing what we had and had not already seen they recommended a drive to the Waipio Valley. It was about 45 minutes away, and as we drove we were hoping it was worth it, and we were not disappointed. The view from the lookout was amazing.


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The valley was home to many of Hawaii's rulers and has historic and cultural importance to the Hawaiian people today. About 50 people still live in the valley, and the valley floor is difficult to access (only accessible with a 4 wheel drive, by foot or by horseback).


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As we were leaving, we spotted a massive bougainvillea growing up in a tree. I knew they could grow pretty large in tropical climates, but we were in awe of this one.


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By this time we were starving, and I used the Yelp! app on my iPhone to find a place nearby for lunch that had good reviews. We decided on Huli Sue's and felt like we Texans were taking a big risk on a barbeque place in Hawaii. The reviews were accurate, and we all enjoyed our meal.

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Back at the condo, we got in a little more pool time and sadly started packing to leave. We were treated to another wild animal show off of our lanai - turkeys!


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Tuesday, March 02, 2010

Back in the present day...

I've been spending most of my computer time going over our vacation photos or blogging about our trip and haven't been posting much about what we've been up to lately. Over the past few weeks...

We went to the Rodeo


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Went to the Fair on President's Day (Claire's school was off, so we had a fun Mommy/Daughter Day)

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Made a trip to DFW and visited Ma & Bob


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Claire got to make cookies with Ma


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Visited Great-Grandmommy & Great-Granddad in Fort Worth

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Ate at Tim Love's Love Shack and Lonesome Dove Bistro (for Ashley's baby shower!)and had dinner with the Moores

Had a visit from Aunt Carol

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Rode the vintage spaceship at Clear Springs

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Checked out Grandmommy & Granddad Martin's car

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Played with the new ball popper from Grandmommy & Granddad Martin

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Worked on table manners

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Such a lady!